Initiative brings Internet to Gaeltacht regions

21-11-2000

by Emmet Cole

An initiative by the Information Society Commission (ISC), aimed at building on the increasing interest in new technology among the general population, has been announced, with special attention being focused on Gaeltacht regions.

Five mobile Internet access units will be travelling around the country to 80 different locations, to give people, who haven't previously used new technology, a chance to use PCs and the Internet for the first time. One mobile Internet access unit will be concentrating specifically on Gaeltacht regions.

The most recent research carried out by the ISC showed that 41 percent of Irish adults now have access to the Internet, with a further 36 percent having access to e-mail and 47 percent having access to a PC or laptop computer. This upsurge in interest among the general population also reflects a massive upswing in awareness and access to new technology among the business community.

Internet access is almost universal among businesses, of which 77 percent have a Web site. The Netdays initiative is an attempt to fill the blanks in Internet access and awareness throughout Ireland, especially in Gaeltacht regions.

Muintearas, an independent educational facilitator for the Gaelic-speaking parts of Ireland, has been acquainting Gaelic-speakers with the latest in IT via its Web site and IT training courses for a number of years.

Three years ago, it decided to put up a Web site dedicated to explaining the Linux operating system through Gaelic.

"The ancient Gaeltacht culture, in being the least proprietorial of all cultures, is no less so in the world of technology. Consequently, we have a duty to acquaint our youth with this free Open-Source Linux which functions better with less RAM than the more top-heavy expensive proprietary operating-systems. The Linux project is a mix of the latest computer technology with one of the oldest linguistic cultures in the world. This counterpoise between the old and the new is what Muintearas is about," a spokesman for Muintearas told ElectricNews.Net.

Earlier this year Muintearas opened a computer training centre in Gweedore, Donegal.

The Netdays initiative, which is being organised this year by the National Centre for Technology in Education, runs from 20 - 27 November.

http://www.netdaysireland.ie

http://homepage.eircom.net/~muintc/linux.htm